Blu-ray Review: THE THIRD MAN (The Studio Canal Collection)
Arguably the pick of this week's new additions excellent Studio Canal Collection high-definition releases, The Third Man is a veritable feast of cinematic wonders, including an astonishing zither soundtrack by Anton Karas which is as full of character and beauty as the film itself. The name Orson Welles may forever be indefatigably linked with Citizen Kane, but his finest work, in my humble opinion was on this peerless Carol Reed classic.
The Third Man was the first film I saw in black and white when I was old enough to appreciate the beauty of the medium, so the erroneous detail "leaked" on Amazon that this Studio Canal high-def treatment was set to be colourised almost pushed me to the edge of what a sane man can handle. Thankfully, no such defilement occurred and the film remains locked in the monochrome that lends so much to the cinematography, creating an iconic aesthetic that casts a breath-taking glaze over the architecture of Vienna to the point where it almost jostles Welles out of pole-position for the audiences' attentions. But only almost.
The film stands as one of the greatest examples of the film-noir canon, thanks to its fidelity to the same striking visual aesthetic that marks other classic examples (though to far greater success than the majority), the presence of recognisable tropes, including the obligatory femme fatale and the kind of dialogue that would kill anyone of a weak constitution stone dead. It is full of iconic moments, including that incredible zither soundtrack, and has at least two scenes that would be considered amongst the greatest ever made- the sewer chase and of course the ferris wheel scene. But, they are only small flashes of brilliance in the overall, grand poetic beauty that is the entire film.
As already qualified, the two shining stars of the film are Orson Welles and the post-war Vienna that is once wrecked by bomb-damage and still phenomenally beautiful in the black and white pallet of cinematographer Robert Krasker's incredible camera work. The depiction of the city, framed by Krasker's gorgeous use of light and dark, adds to the feeling that Reed's version of the city is a dark caricature of sorts mimicking for the audience the alien nature of the city to the eyes of the naive young American Martins. Welles is a powerhouse, but then that wasn't to be disputed, but he positively explodes into the consciousness on screen, buoyed by the diamond-edged, deliriously good dialogue penned by Graham Greene and later re-jigged into his excellent novella.
Even despite Welles' dominance- and he is mesmorising, even in silence- the film also depends heavily on the brilliance of the performances of both Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli to give it balance and make it more than just a vehicle for Welles' to show off. Cotten holds the entire film together, his charming naivety acting as the light to Lime's darkness- and providing a humorous compliment to the more disturbing elements- their monochromatic existence perfectly mimicking the iconic visual style the film is filmed in, and Valli is the epitome of ominous beauty as the femme fatale who is seemingly sent to test Martins along his journey of morbid, dark discovery.
In short, the film is a classic- a seminal work of film-noir that deserves consideration as one of the greatest ever committed to the silver screen. If you don't own it already in one of the versions already on the market, I urge you to take the plunge.
Quality
This is the point where the praise begins to stutter. I have already had the pleasure of watching the Criterion Collection release of The Third Man, whose quality is typical of the diligence that Criterion apply in creating superlative re-releases, and unfortunately the Studio Canal version pales badly in comparison. The image is grubby throughout, pockmarked with dirt and debris, which always seems to show up more against a black and white image, and the levels of depth that would have given already iconic scenes like the sewer chase a further injection of quality just aren't crisp or defined enough. Shadow levels are the worst affected- where different levels of black on black in the Criterion version are obvious and clearly defined, they are an indistinct blur in this, which is almost a crime.
Sadly, that isn't the end of it. The one problem with the Criterion transfer was the abundance of grain on the image, but even that could be forgiven as a desire to retain some semblance of authenticity (perhaps a nod to the film's age) when you compare it to the smudged and fudged way the Studio Canal transfer sets about erasing too much grain, and takes too much detail with it. I don't know what the bigger crime is: taking advantage of a post-war city population on its knees to your own ends, or smearing a downright classic work of art.
I realise that I'm guilty of likening this version to the superior Criterion offering a little too often - especially since that one isn't exactly readily available any more (out of print since last year) especially to British audiences - but you simply can't ignore the presence of a better version when it shows the potential that this one so badly fails to live up to. Perhaps the errors wouldn't have shone so brightly, if I hadn't seen the Criterion: but the simple fact remains that I have, and they did- so, if you have the means and the possibility (its currently out of print) do yourself the service of investing in the Criterion Collection release.
Extras
Not as definitive as I'd have liked, and markedly inferior to the Criterion Blu-Ray release which includes two excellent Audio Commentaries, and a number of additional featurettes that make that the ultimate edition of The Third Man on Blu-Ray. The only feature that survives from the heavy cull between the two versions is the Alternate Opening Voiceover Narration by Joseph which is largely the same to the version that made it into the final film, with a slightly different take on how Martins is presented as a character.
Having said that, there are a few gems here: the audio commentary is enjoyable and sheds some light on the technical side of the shoot, which is always a good addition for those looking for a little more insight. Everything else is pretty reasonable, especially the audio features, but it is the interactive tour of Vienna that stands out an absolute mile as the best feature (even despite the unnecessary viewing delays). It presents the city beautifully, using picture-in-picture pop ups with each choice on the map linking to footage related to it.
Audio commentary with Guy Hamilton (Assistant Director), Simon Callow & Angela Allen (2nd Unit Continuity) The Third Man On The Radio: The Lives of Harry Lime- A Ticket to Tangiers (29 mins) Guardian NFT Interview with Joseph Cotton (Audio only) Guardian NFT Interview with Graham Greene (Audio only) Stills Gallery Joseph Cottons Alternate Opening Voiceover Narration (3 mins) Original Trailer 1 Original Trailer 2 Interview and zither performance by Cornelia Mayer The Third Man Interactive Vienna Tour 20-page Companion BookletNow, let's all get together and work out what we all need to do to get a British version of the Criterion release, including all of the excellent extra features that made that the best release available (if you have a region free player, that is). That means reinstating the two American audio commentaries- the first by Steven Soderbergh and Tony Gilroy, the second by film scholar Dana Polan- as well as the excellent The Third Man Treatment reading by Richard Clarke, Peter Bogdanovich's introduction. It also means we can enjoy the full length documentary Shadowing The Third Man, the Who Was the Third Man? featurette, the Lux Radio Theatre radio presentation of the original story, the comparison between the UK and US releases, Kind to Foreigners, a take on the non-English dialogue, the orginal press book, footage of Anton Karas interviewed and playing the zither, of Vienna police, the discussion through gallery of the city separation, and the hour long feature on the Graham Greene.
Put like that, you can probably now understand why the Criterion release is the one we would always recommend if the choice was there...
The Third Man is available to buy on Blu-Ray now. You can check out comparison of Blu-ray screenshots at DVD Beaver.